Development Manager

Job Description

Job Description

AIA Seattle is one of the largest architectural associations in the US, with an inspiring community of passionate and engaged members. AIA Seattle is seeking a Development Manager to lead the development activities of AIA Seattle, a 501(c)(6) professional membership organization, and our 501(c)(3) strategic partner, Seattle Design Festival (SDF). AIA Seattle’s primary revenue source is membership dues, while SDF’s primary revenue source is sponsorship funding.

AIA Seattle + Seattle Design Festival envision of a culture of design that fosters equitable, resilient, thriving communities. AIA Seattle’s mission is to champion the central role of architects in creating and sustaining a better built environment. Seattle Design Festival’s mission is to unleash the design thinker in everyone to illuminate Seattle’s challenges and ignite action. We are member and volunteer centered.

The Development Manager leads the fund development activities of AIA Seattle + Seattle Design Festival, including sponsorship and individual giving, as well as AIA Seattle’s member recruitment, retention, services, and benefits. The Development Manager cultivates and stewards relationships with sponsors, members, individual donors, and board members.

Goals of Position

• Cultivate, steward, and expand relationships with sponsors, donors, and members
• Plan, implement, and evaluate fundraising and membership campaigns
• Identify opportunities for sustainable growth in development and membership

Essential Job Functions

Sponsorship (45%)
Lead corporate sponsorship programs for AIA Seattle + Seattle Design Festival

• Develop and manage annual sponsorship campaigns, and oversee development of fundraising tools
• Collaborate with communications and programs teams to determine sponsor benefit opportunities
• Oversee sponsor recognition and fulfillment of benefits
• Cultivate and maintain relationships with current and potential sponsors
• Provide leadership, tools, and training to support and motivate board members to achieve fundraising goals
• Lead process to ensure accurate data collection and maintain accurate records
• Lead Development Committee for AIA Seattle + Seattle Design Festival
• Oversee online advertising sales to sponsors and prospects
• Collaborate with communications and programs teams to ensure accurate messaging and exposure related to sponsorship benefits and advertising 
• Develop and manage goals and budgets for sponsorship activities

Fundraising (20%)
Lead charitable giving for Seattle Design Festival and public programs

• In partnership with the programs team, assess current and future program offerings for funding potential
• Contribute to grant writing and reporting
• Develop and manage individual giving
• Lead and manage annual fundraising campaign
• Explore potential new fundraising opportunities
• Manage and leverage platforms for giving
• Manage in-kind giving
• Develop and manage goals and budgets for giving activities

Membership (20%)
Develop and implement strategies to maintain and continue to grow membership for the 10-County chapter in all categories: individuals, firms, and allied professionals

• Execute annual membership recruitment plan, with support from Membership Development Steering Committee, which has led to consistent membership growth over the past decade
• Oversee annual membership billing and renewals, and monitor membership renewal rates
• Lead Membership Development Committee for AIA Seattle
• In partnership with the communications and programs teams, conduct member outreach and collect member feedback as needed to inform member recruitment and retention efforts
• Collaborate with communications team for membership outreach and stewardship
• Collaborate with programs team to communicate engagement opportunities available to members
• Work with AIA national membership staff to coordinate membership efforts

Management (15%)

• Manage Development Coordinator including hiring, onboarding, performance evaluation and professional development with a focus on mentorship and coaching to foster growth and skill-building.
• Manage Development team workload to optimize capacity, systems analysis, and customer service
• Participate in hiring activities and decisions for AIA staff
• Contributes to long term planning
• Represent AIA Seattle + Seattle Design Festival at community events, conferences and education programs to steward current relationships and cultivate new relationships

Job Skills and Attributes

• Exceptional ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects
• Courageous collaborator that values success of the collective
• Eagerness to identify opportunities for growth in revenue and membership
• Relationship builder and connector with excellent interpersonal skills who excels at partnership development
• Organized and self-directed strategic thinker with attention to detail
• Effective communicator with strong presentation, writing, and facilitation skills
• Commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion
• Excited to further the aligned organizations’ vision for equitable, resilient, thriving communities

Job Qualifications

• Requires Bachelor’s degree or equivalent life experience
• Demonstrated management experience in fundraising, partnership, business development, membership, or related work

Our Team and Benefits
AIA Seattle offers a competitive salary and benefits package. We seek applicants with a range of backgrounds, viewpoints, and work styles. Our organization is taking active steps through education programs and collaboration spaces to support industry-wide culture change, so that architecture and the allied professions actively attract and retain more people of color, women, and non-binary people. We are a small office that supports flexibility, creativity, leadership, and the professional development of all our staff. We value our team and work to provide runway for professional advancement. We currently work both in person and remotely and seek ways to encourage collaboration while providing flexibility for work-life balance.

This is a full-time, 40 hours per week position in the range of $31.76-$40.78 per hour. AIA Seattle contributes 100% of employee premium coverage of medical benefits and life insurance, and employees may enroll in the company dental plan which the company covers at 50% of the premium. Employees are invited to participate in a 401k for which the company matches up to 4% of wages per year. Full-time employees receive holiday leave which includes nine paid holidays, plus the entire week between December 25th through January 1st.

New full-time employees accrue ten days of additional paid time off over the course of the year, with an additional day for each anniversary of hiring date, and additional sick leave above the requirements of the City of Seattle and State of Washington. Sixteen hours are available for paid employee community service each year, which can be used by team members to give time for their passions and interests. Reimbursement is available for in-office days and work-related events for parking expenses.

We actively encourage applications from people of color, immigrant and bilingual communities, people of all abilities, members of LGBTQ+ communities, and people with other diverse backgrounds and lived experiences. We are dedicated to upholding an inviting workplace and co-create organization-wide policies together as part of our team workload for thoughtful and actionable measures to advance sustainability, equity, diversity and anti-racism, and to support industry-wide culture change.We provide equal employment opportunities to all individuals. To Apply:Submit a resume and letter of interest through the application portal. Preferred deadline is June 15, 2026.
Accessibility accommodations during the job application process are available. Please make direct contact at View email address on us.fitly.work.